Papky

Charlie Brown was a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the
379th Bomber Group at Kimbolton, England. His B-17 was
called ‘Ye Old Pub’ and was in a terrible state, having
been hit by flak and fighters. The compass was damaged
and they were flying deeper over enemy territory instead
of heading home to Kimbolton.

After flying the B-17 over an enemy airfield, a German
pilot named Franz Steigler was ordered to take off and
shoot down the B-17. When he got near the B-17, he could
not believe his eyes. In his words, he ‘had never seen a
plane in such a bad state’. The tail and rear section was
severely damaged, and the tail gunner wounded. The top gunner
was all over the top of the fuselage. The nose was smashed
and there were holes everywhere.

Despite having ammunition, Franz flew to the side of the
B-17 and looked at Charlie Brown, the pilot. Brown was scared
and struggling to control his damaged and blood-stained plane.

Aware that they had no idea where they were going, Franz waved
at Charlie to turn 180 degrees. Franz escorted and guided the
stricken plane to, and slightly over, the North Sea towards England.
He then saluted Charlie Brown and turned away, back to Europe.
When Franz landed he told the CO that the plane had been shot down
over the sea, and never told the truth to anybody. Charlie Brown
and the remains of his crew told all at their briefing, but were
ordered never to talk about it.

More than 40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to find the Luftwaffe
pilot who saved the crew. After years of research, Franz was found.
He had never talked about the incident, not even at post-war reunions.

They met in the USA at a 379th Bomber Group reunion, together with 25
people who are alive now – all because Franz never fired his guns
When asked why he didn’t shoot them down, Stigler later said,
“I didn’t have the heart to finish those brave men. I flew beside
them for a long time. They were trying desperately to get home
and Iwas going to let them do that. I could not have shot at them.
It would have been the same as shooting at a man in a parachute.”

Both men died in 2008.

This is a true story http://www.snopes.com/military/charliebrown.asp